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How did I never come across Deception (1946) before? It's got to be Claude Rains' most delicious role. He absolutely has a blast playing the grand, tyrannical, jealous composer who hates giving Bette up to Paul Henreid, her former lover who has just returned from Europe at the end of the war. Both men are wickedly jealous of each other. The scene where the great composer unexpectedly arrives at Bette's and Paul's festive wedding party at her great loft apartment overlooking the river in New York (modeled on Leonard Bernstein's apartment) and trades poisonous banter with Bette and Paul makes the movie worth it by itself. But every scene is a gem, such as the scene where Claude takes them to a haute cuisine French restaurant and spends 10 minutes going back and forth over whether to order pheasant, trout, or saddle of lamb and whether to go with a Hermitage or a Vosne Romanee wine. This is some of the sharpest, wittiest dialogue I've seen in a movie, rivaling Ernst Lubitsch and every bit as good as in All About Eve. Oh, and I forgot to mention the amazingly good symphony performance scenes, with an original cello concerto by Korngold, ("played" by Henreid with the arms of two real cellists reaching in from either side to play the instrument). And Bette, a trained pianist, playing Beethoven at her wedding party (she really wanted to play it herself but Jack Warner decided against it but you can see she knows what she's doing in fingering the keys). If you haven't seen it, do check it out.

Irving Rapper's "Deception" reunited the three stars of a much better Bette Davis' vehicle: "Now Voyager". This is a film where all three stars shine equally. "Deception" was based on a play and the adaptation has opened it in unexpected ways. This satisfying melodrama has one thing going for it: the great music one hears throughout the movie, it's highlight being the Korngold Cello concerto, a rarity seldom heard, let alone in films. We are also treated to the beginning of Beethoven's Apassionata sonata as well.

Christine Radcliffe is a musician who gets separated from the love of her life, Karel Novak, one of the best cellist of Europe, before the advent of WWII. Christine comes back to New York, where she becomes the lover of a famous composer, Alexander Hollenius. One day, Christine discovers Karel's name playing in a second class venue in Manhattan, where they are reunited.

Christine doesn't have the nerve to tell Karel about what has happened in the intervening years. It's obvious Christine has done well for herself, as Karel discovers Christine lives in a great apartment, he finds closets full of elegant and expensive clothes, furs, jewelry, which doesn't make sense to him. Little does he know everything has come out of the generosity of Alexander Hollenius, a composer that fell in love with Christine and obviously, became her lover. Christine is coy in not revealing the truth, which keeps interfering with her happiness, until it comes to a head as Hollenius threatens Christine to tell it all to Karel after he plays the concert. It's at that point that Christine realizes she is cornered and must face reality and the fact that she will lose the man she really loves.

Bette Davis made a fine Christine, a woman she was born to play. Ms. Davis is amazing in the film, which unfortunately, is forgotten by all her admirers when comparing this role to her other great screen portraits. Claude Rains, who worked so well with Ms. Davis, gives an incredible performance as the egotistical composer who is afraid to lose his own creation. This has to be one of Mr. Rains' best appearances in a film. Paul Henried is perfect as Karel, the European cellist madly in love with Christine, a woman he thought he had lost forever. Mr. Henried is an elegant figure in this film, something that he projected effortlessly.

Ernest Haller's cinematography greatly enhances all we see on the screen. Mr. Haller was one of the best photographers working in that period, as he clearly shows here. George James Hopkins' sets not only are opulent, but he clearly knew how to get the most of his interior designs.

The film is an engrossing tale that will satisfy the fans of this genre.

On a recent Turner Classic Movies broadcast, I finally caught up with all of this one, having seen only snippets of it before. Everybody involved was obviously given free rein, from the lead actors all the way through to every behind-the-scenes artisan, the best that Warner Brothers could muster at the time. Claude Rains and Bette Davis spar in magnificent style, with Rains, stroking the fur of his pet Siamese cat, winning by default, since he was given a role which is so over-the-top that, in the hands of a lesser actor, it would have verged on outrageous camp. (Check out the rococo New York brownstone mansion in which he's ensconced, more magnificent than anything a lesser studio could provide for a monarch in a story involving royalty!)

Poor Paul Henreid has a particularly thankless role to play, swinging like an erratic pendulum between jealous tantrums and thoroughly deceived naïveté, but his simulations of the movements of a top-flight cello musician are convincing enough to allow all to be forgiven.

Erich Wolfgang Korngold's music is probably the film's chief asset and it probably sounded superb over the monophonic sound systems when this film was released, since Warners' sound technicians were the best in Hollywood back then. (Unfortunately the soundtrack during the telecast I heard was very wobbly - a real disappointment. Wonder what the problem was, since this certainly isn't the case with many films dating even further into the past.)

While it may not be a delicacy fit for a cinematic gourmet, it's more than passably entertaining for its nearly two-hours running time.

I have just finished reading all of the comments here and now let me add my two cents worth. This is my all time favorite Davis opus and it is certainly not because of the high quality of her performance. See Davis at her best in The Letter. What Deception is is a high powered duel between flamboyant personalities (Davis and Rains) wiping their costar (Henreid) right off the screen. The restaurant scene deserves all the mention it got here previously, but how about mink coated Bette confronting Rains in his bed reading Dick Tracy? The screen crackles with vitriol. This is over the top screen acting at it's most enjoyable.If you've never seen this, take the opportunity and enjoy it for what it is: good old fashioned Hollywood entertainment.

Bette Davis believed her true love Paul Henreid was killed in battle. When he returns, their romance is rekindled But during the time he was believed dead, Bette had become involved with composer Claude Rains. Claude's not very happy losing her to Henreid. So Bette must take steps to ensure he doesn't ruin their happiness.

Paul Henreid is the weak link in this dynamic trio of stars. But, to be fair, he doesn't have the juiciest part. Bette is at her soap operatic best here, serving up her role with a hefty side of ham. Claude Rains owns every scene he's in. Like Bette, the man knew his way around a melodramatic role. Unlike Bette (usually), Rains could keep from going over-the-top. He's a better actor, quite frankly. But stars like Bette Davis and Joan Crawford aren't beloved for their realistic acting. People like them for their enjoyable excesses. They were the precursors to the television soap opera stars that would come decades later.

Wonderful sets and costumes, filmed beautifully. Glamorous production from Warner Bros. Loved the Erich Wolfgang Korngold score, as well as the other classical pieces featured. It's a fine melodrama with touches of film noir. Great performances from Davis and Rains. Fans of both will enjoy this one.